The English giants noticeably regressed last season, and only achieved a satisfactory result in the Premier League, finishing third. Even this season, they have already suffered several defeats, although mostly back in August. The German side, after an undefeated “golden double” in 2023/2024, dropped to second place. But that was still under Xabi Alonso. His successor, ten Hag, was dismissed as early as September. So now it’s up to Julmann, the current coach, to fix things, and the Dane is doing rather well.
Haaland and company have stumbled only once in the Champions League. In Monaco, they allowed the hosts to snatch a draw, conceding a penalty in added time for a 2-2 finish. Before that, they had beaten Napoli 2-0 with a man advantage, then defeated Villarreal by the same score, and routed Borussia 4-1.
The German club struggled for a long time to win in the tournament. They started with two draws, in Copenhagen and at home against PSV. Then they lost heavily to PSG, 2-7. Only against a crisis-stricken Benfica did they manage a 1-0 victory in Lisbon.
Manchester City vs Bayer: Key Statistics and Trends
Manchester City have won three out of four matches in the tournament
The English side average 2.5 goals scored and concede 0.75 per game
Bayer won their fourth match
Leverkusen average 1.5 goals scored but concede 2.5 per game
Manchester City vs Bayer: Probable Starting Lineups
Manchester City (probable lineup): Donnarumma – O’Riley, Gvardiol, Stones, Matheus Nunes – Doku, Nico Gonzalez, Foden, Reijnders, Savinho – Haaland
Bayer (probable lineup): Flekken – Tapsoba, Badé, Quansah – Grimaldo, Poku, Echeverri, Aleix Garcia, Maza, Arthur – Kofan
Previous Matches: Manchester City vs Bayer
This will be the first ever meeting between these teams.
